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A new University of Chicago startup is working to better predict the behavior of the trillions of microorganisms living inside the human body and harness them to treat disease.

Gusto Global, co-founded by Prof. Jack Gilbert with the help of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is diving into one of the most promising and active fields of scientific research: the human microbiome.

Jumpstarting Gusto’s drug development pipeline is research licensed from Gilbert and John Alverdy, the Sarah and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery and executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery. Their work is inspired by the human gut microbiome, a system composed of 30 trillion tiny swimming microbes, which, when combined, behave much like a human organ. These microbes are believed to calibrate the human immune system, shaping the likelihood of disease, response to surgery and even mental health. Read more here.

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BiomeSense, a startup developing biosensors that can detect particular kinds of bacteria in patients’ feces that could help improve the efficacy of clinical trials, won the University of Chicago’s Innovation Fund finals and an investment of up to $250,000 from the college.